Abstract
Poverty is a decisive risk factor for poor health and well-being, and its negative consequences could be more severe and substantial among children. Understanding the factors associated with improvement in well-being is vital to design interventions. This is a prospective cohort study of 546 youth growing up in families in poverty in Hong Kong. All participants were assessed twice, in 2016 and 2019, in regard to their physical and mental health, as well as for different economic, social, and psychological variables. The results show that approximately 41% experienced an improvement in their health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Findings from the logistic regression analyses suggest that the health and development of youth in poverty may be restored by promoting social support, a sense of hope, future orientation, job stability, and money management practices, such as savings, during childhood and adolescence. The findings shed light on future policy making and forms of service development that could help to end the vicious cycle of poverty and hampered health.
Highlights
Poverty is one of the major risk factors leading to hampered health and well-being [1].It has been shown that poverty can be associated with physical and mental health problems in a vicious cycle; poverty is related to higher risks of mental disorders and poor physical health, which could lead to job instability and financial burdens [2,3]
Concerning the changes in psychological variables from 2016 to 2019 among the 546 adolescents, 73% reported a reduction in emotional and behavioural problems, 28% had an increase in hope in regard to their future, 23% had an increase in their perceived level of social support, 35% reported an increase in future orientation regarding education, and 34% reported an increase in future orientation related to their career
Consistent with past studies [6,25,26], we found that improved social support perceived by children who had grown up in families living in poverty was associated with a better health-related quality of life (HRQoL)
Summary
Poverty is one of the major risk factors leading to hampered health and well-being [1]. It has been shown that poverty can be associated with physical and mental health problems in a vicious cycle; poverty is related to higher risks of mental disorders and poor physical health, which could lead to job instability and financial burdens [2,3]. Compared to adults living in poverty, children growing up in poverty may experience more severe chronic problems in regard to their health and development. The extant literature has provided plenty of evidence that children in poverty tend to have poorer physical, emotional, social, and educational outcomes, as well as higher risks of early death in the long term [5,7]. Poor health during the critical periods of childhood and adolescence may seriously hinder future development, which further limits future health and social positions in later life [8]
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